for the presidential nomination. in the past two weeks, we've seen rick santorum go from zero to 100. he won missouri, minnesota and he also won colorado. three huge contests last week. rick santorum spoke here and received a very, very good reception. fred. >> so, mark, do the candidates feel like that straw poll is very meaningful? are they working hard to try to win that appeal and get that rubber stamp of approval? >> yeah, i think so. and in fact just about an hour ago i was walking downstairs around the hotel lobby and saw rick santorum supporters all holding signs up trying to get support for their candidate. if you go downstairs to the exhibition booth area, rick santorum had a booth down there, as did newt gingrich. mitt romney spoke here yesterday. of course to make his appeal to conservativist conservativists. >> mark preston, thanks so much,

keep us posted throughout the afternoon. the battle for election delegates kicking into high gear today in the state of maine. republican voters have been kaw cu -- caucusing there for weeks and tonight we find out the winner. let's go to shannon travis where mitt romney and ron paul are campaigning today. so what's the feeling as to how these caucuses just might turn out? >> yeah, i mean the feeling about how they might turn out, ron paul seems to have a bit of an edge there. you remember, fred, that while the other candidates a few weeks ago were campaigning in florida, ron paul packed up his v-neck sweaters, packed up and headed north. he's got a lot of young supporters here and libertarian supporters here. not so fast. mitt romney is saying obviously he's a favorite son of new england, former massachusetts governor, and he came here with an 11th hour appeal.

today he did something for the first time appearing at a caucus site and has been very involved in republican circles up here in maine for many, many years so he may actually seal the deal too, so we'll have to wait until tonight, fred. >> rick santorum and newt gingrich are not in maine right now. does that put them at a disadvantage or does it matter? >> yeah, yeah. i mean those two basically wasn't in the delegate calculation to really come up here, so again, ron paul has a bit of an edge. we actually want to play a sound bite from the congressman that appeared here. he didn't address the crowd but he spoke to people, greeted people. take a listen at one question that he got, fred. >> congressman, how are you feeling about tonight? >> hello. >> sir, do you need to win this contest today? your whole strategy has been based on winning smaller -- >> i don't think it's the word need like if you don't win it everything is over, not at all. but it would be a boost and be delightful.

>> reporter: i can tell you, fred, that even if the congressman downplays it, they want to win badly. you know he's zero for eight right now, he hasn't won any contests so far. they really feel like this is the prime opportunity, but again because mitt romney has come up here may not be that way. we'll have to wait and see. >> all right, shannon travis, thanks so much. keep us posted. cnn's coverage of the maine caucuses beginning at 6:00 p.m. eastern this evening with a special edition of "the situation room" with wolf blitzer. at z7:00, we'll have live coverage of all the results. join us every sunday afternoon at 4:00 where we dedicate an hour to the presidential contenders. tomorrow we'll be talking to jackie cushman, the daughter of newt gingrich, and we'll talk about her dad's planned comeback. 4:00 eastern tomorrow. now overseas to the escalating crisis in syria. the besieged town of homs is

enduring a seventh straight day of shelling. hundreds of people have reportedly been killed in homs in the past week, including six today. on monday the u.n. general assembly will consider a resolution condemning president assad's crackdown. we'll get more on the violence from cnn's ivan watson in istanbul, turkey. >> reporter: residents of the be sieged syrian city of homs awoke once again at dawn on saturday morning to another day of sustained bombardment from the syrian military. that is routine -- a deadly routine they have lived for for the better part of a week. a routine that has killed hundreds of people and wounded hundreds more at the hands, according to the u.s. ambassador to syria, of the syrian military. take a listen to what ambassador robert ford had to say to cnn's wolf blitzer on friday night. >> we know who's shelling homs

and it is not the armed opposition groups, it's the government. and that's why i wanted that picture put on our facebook account, so that people could see there is the artillery and that's what's firing at homs right now. the armed opposition has rifles, machine guns and even a few rocket-propelled grenades but it doesn't have artillery. only one side has artillery. >> reporter: the syrian government has consistently argued since the beginning of this uprising nearly 11 months ago that it is fighting armed terrorists linked to al qaeda. that is how they have termed the what started as peaceful protests around the country. increasingly we are seeing signs that the opposition is resorting to the use of arms to fight back against the syrian security forces. one syrian opposition group claimed responsibility for killing ten syrian soldiers in the northern province as a result of an improvised

explosive device and an ambush. those are some of the tactics and weapons we saw in neighboring iraq during the bloody u.s. occupation of that country. now, turkey has made an announcement, the turkish foreign minister visiting washington, that it is going to start a process, going to apply to the united nations at its headquarters in geneva to try to find some way to start sending humanitarian aid to syria. the potential obstacles to trying to send aid in would be significant and would probably require the permission of the syrian regime itself, which is accused of encircling cities like homs and preventing pressure supplies of food and basic medicines. ivan watson, cnn, istanbul. iran's president is promising a major announcement about the country's nuclear program in the next few days. mahmoud ahmadinejad made the comment at a rally marking the 33rd anniversary of iran's

islamic revolution. he did not mention specifics, only that iran has made several major nuclear achievements. back in this country, it's been 30 years since the hit tv show "fame" hit air waves. remember the popular dance teacher lydia? lydia grant played by debbie allen. well, she is still dancing and she's also directing, choreographing and acting. i talk face to face with her about lots of things, including her new role on "grey's anatomy" and her dance studio. how'd you do it? eating right, whole grain. [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multigrain cheerios... five whole grains, 110 calories. yoo-hoo. hello. it's water from the drinking fountain at the mall. [ male announcer ] great tasting tap water can come from any faucet anywhere. the brita bottle with the filter inside.

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the cia's website is back online after hackers brought it down. the group anonymous is claiming

responsibility for the attack. they also hit websites run by the state of alabama and the mexican mining minister re. both the cia and alabama government officials say that they are working to find those responsible for the cyber attacks. president obama unveils his budget proposal monday, but senior administration officials have revealed a few key details. the plan predicts a $901 billion deficit next year and calls for investments in infrastructure and education. it also includes cuts in military spending and $1.5 trillion in tax hikes. the u.s. conference of catholic bishops is not happy with president obama's compromise over contraception funding. a statement on their website today says the plan raises serious moral concerns. the government's new health policy originally wanted hospitals and schools with religious ties to offer full coverage for contraceptives, but after days of opposition from the catholic church, the white house dropped that requirement

leaving insurers to pick up the tab. president obama says the core principles remain unchanged. >> today we've reached a decision on how to move forward. under the rule, women will still have access to free preventive care that includes contraceptive services, no matter where they work. so that core principle remains. >> so there will be a one-year transition period for religious organizations after the policy formally takes effect august 1st. coming up in about five minutes from now, our legal guys take on this issue. you'll want to hear what they say about the government, religious institutions and contraceptives. valentine's day is just three days away, so you're committed in your relationship, right? but maybe, are you cheating on your spouse financially? if so, it's time to come clean. christine romans and ali velshi show you how to have the money talk with your significant other in this week's "smart is the new

rich." >> when it comes to money, my friend ali velshi and i speak two different languages and that's okay, because thankfully we're not married to each other, we just work together and wrote a book together called "how to speak munonemoney." i want to take a look at some of the data from jeff over at you state university. he said wives with no debt were 12% more likely to be happy in marriage than wives who had 10 to $20,000 in debt. husbands are happy no matter what. one thing we have talked about and wrote about in our book is a lot of couples aren't honest to each other when it comes to debt. i wanted to ask you, is it ever okay to hide spending or to hide debt? >> is anybody listening to my answer? >> your wife is watching the program as we speak. >> no, it's not. there's two issues. one is do you care about your habits on spending? a lot of guys don't care.

and then it's the are you completely honest about what your debt situation is. both of those are important so you can't just know about your partner's debt, you actually have to know about how they answer that question. >> the next question i want to ask you in honor of valentine's day. is it okay for one person to handle the finances in the relationship? >> yes, absolutely. let the better person to it. in my -- believe it or not, in my family, you know it, my wife is better at this stuff so she sort of takes the lead on it and it gets done better than -- now, look, there's an issue about responsibility about money, the other partner should have involvement in it so they know about it, but i think it's totally okay for the smarter, better one, more organized one to do. >> it how do you have the money talk? >> if you start off -- >> you're telling me you would dump me if i asked you how much student loan debt you have? >> no, i don't think you'd get a second date. why not get to the third or fourth date and say listen, this is working out really well, there's something i've got to tell you. >> thanks, ali. for "smart is the new rich," i'm

christine romans. among the legal issues we're tackling today, a former university of virginia lacrosse player accused of killing his ex-girlfriend. he breaks down during his murder trial after watching a videotape. our legal experts will be weighing in on this case. americans believe they should be in charge of their own future. how they'll live tomorrow. for more than 116 years, ameriprise financial has worked for their clients' futures. helping millions of americans retire on their terms. when they want. where they want. doing what they want. ameriprise. the strength of a leader in retirement planning. the heart of 10,000 advisors working with you one-to-one. together for your future. ♪

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a former university of virginia lacrosse player is on trial for the death of his ex-girlfriend. let's bring in our legal guys. avery friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor in cleveland. good to see you. richard herman, a new york criminal defense attorney and law professor joining us from new york. gentlemen, this is a heart-breaking case no matter which way you look at it. now, this is an issue of whether it's manslaughter or even first-degree murder. this week when we saw some of the evidence unveiled, we have an audio tape, past e-mails, one from george huguely saying "i should have killed you. " avery, you first. intent, have we seen that there should be a first-degree murder conviction? >> well, there's certainly some evidence of intent, because what

has surfaced is some of the prior statements made by george huguely and some of the evidence that goes to his violent nature, similar acts, so to speak. but i think in the first week of trial, as riveting as this trial has been, what we have seen is an individual who clearly had alcoholism issues. some of the evidence that surfaced was that the day of the event on may 2nd, 2010, there's some evidence that george huguely actually had 20 drinks before the incident. even testimony from his lacrosse players, his friends, talked about his alcoholism. i don't think, even at this point, even before we've heard the defense, that we have the necessary intent for first-degree murder. >> and so, you know, richard, if you agree with that, then we're talking about, you know, manslaughter there, because there is evidence showing that he admits to kicking in yeardley love's door, that he grabbed

her, but he says he didn't choke her. he said when he left, she was on the bed but it was news to him and you saw that in that videotape and you heard it in the audio tape that he was surprised that she was found dead. >> well, that's very nice to be surprised. you should not be surprised that i do not agree with avery. fred, the door was not kicked in, he punched a hole through her bedroom door, which was locked. i think that pretty much goes to intent right there. he stole her laptop computer which had on it the e-mail that "i should have killed you" which he sent to her a couple of days earlier. she had bruises, a black eye, beaten almost to a pulp. this guy is an animal. this is a horrific crime. the jury is not going to buy the intoxication defense, which, by the way, is a defense in virginia and they are not going to buy the aterol and boozing cause of death which they are

claiming -- >> so her injuries you believe and how he left her are consistent with intent? >> absolutely, fred. she was beaten up bad by this guy. >> okay. so avery, the defense is trying -- while the burden of proof is on the prosecution, the defense is trying to say that there was something else. maybe she had another medical reason as to why her heart stopped after he left the room. >> yeah. >> what will happen with that? has that been dispelled? >> yeah, that's a wacko defense. the idea that she had arrhythmia from taking aterol. the doctors have sort of blown that theory up. i agree the behavior is horrendous. but when you have that level of intoxication, i think the jury will give that serious

consideration. we'll have to hear the defense coming up this week and re-evaluate that, but i think the intent is really watered down with the level of intoxication we've seen here. now let's talk about contraceptives and religious organizations, the obama administration, its response to the uproar. so the president makes this revised plan on contraceptives saying that it was never about religious freedoms. but, avery, the argument has been, and we heard it underscored by john boehner, that this was an attack on religious freedom. so was this strictly a political argument or is this indeed a legal argument that has been made and potentially resolved now? >> well, maybe we should have women cover themselves when they get medical care. look, legally, constitutionally, sorry, it makes my blood boil, this is not a constitutional issue, it is not a legal issue. you want to characterize it as a political issue, that's fine. but the idea of arguing that it's an attack against religion is outrageous.

these laws have been on the books in 28 of the 50 states. every challenge has been unsuccessful on the issue of violation of religious freedom. i prosecute religious freedom, i teach constitutional law. it is not a constitutional issue. when women suffer because of endometriosis and uterine cancer, they are entitled to treatment. women have suffered too long and i think the president did absolutely the right thing. >> richard, under the new plan it's up to insurance companies to cover contraceptives, religious-affiliated universities and hospitals will not be compelled to do so. >> right. the insurance companies have to provide that for free. but i had to pinch myself, fred, to say is this really february, 2012? i mean come on. we're not talking about late-term abortions. we're not talking about mid-term abortions. we're talking contraception here, something 99% of the women in the united states use or have used, and that includes catholic women. so it's just a preposterous,

ridiculous argument that's being made. it could very well be fueled by politics. if that's the case, the republicans are going nowhere with this particular argument. president obama was right on with what he did. look, he poised -- he posed this little -- somehow he lessened the blow a little bit, but it's absolutely ridiculous. women are entitled to contraceptive relief. it saves lives. it prevents pregnancies. >> and avery? >> but the republicans forced the issue. again, a political issue. the president responding that, you know, it was appear attack on religion is just so untrue, at least legally and constitutionally but you know what, forced the issue. the president did the right thing, absolutely did the right thing. >> avery, some say that maybe the president did this intentionally to try to draw attention away from the economy and direct it on an issue that clearly they can win. i don't know.

>> i don't buy it. >> avery, richard, thanks so much. we're not done with you, though. we'll see you in 20 minutes with other legal cases involving some parents in virginia who have to defend themselves in court because their kids were tardy to school oh, too many times according to the school district. we'll tackle that case right after this. every time a vehicle comes into a ford dealership you'll be presented with one of these. we check the belts, hoses... brakes. tires and the pressures... battery, all your fluids... exhaust system, transmission... we inspect your air filter... it gets done,it gets done quickly and it gets done correctly. the works. oil change, tire rotation and more: $29.95 or less after rebate - at your ford dealer. you're a doctor... you're a car doctor. maybe a car doctor...

military drones have helped hunt down terrorists and have carried out attack and reconnaissance missions on the battlefield. well, soon they may help police chase down suspects on the run, and that's not all. athena jones fills us in on how drones could become part of our everyday lives. >> reporter: when most people hear the word "drone" they think of large-scale vehicles like the predator, the sort of devices used to transmit live video from the battlefield, or track down al qaeda leaders, like one who was killed by a cia drone last year. but new smaller remote control devices are being developed for widespread use outside war zones, like in u.s. cities and rural areas. the coast guard used a drone in alaska to conduct surveillance of an ice sheet. >> we see the civil applications

for these things dwarfing the military applications of these things in the future. >> reporter: farmers could one day use droughnes to monitor th crops. police could use one like this drone -- >> i have a visual on the suspect. >> reporter: -- to track down suspects on the run or perform other surveillance at a fraction of the cost of a helicopter. under a bill recently passed by congress, the federal aviation administration must draw up rules to allow shamall unmanned aircraft systems to fly in about two years. give agencies faster access to some devices and fully integrate them into the national airspace by 2015. >> a lot of our manufacturers are very eager for this market. i think it's one of these things that once we actually get access to the airspace, you'll see a whole new industry really crop up. >> reporter: ben, who represents drone makers, says the industry will be a big job creator in

coming years, generating tens of billions of dollars. but even proponents admit these new technologies raise obvious concerns. chief among them is safety. >> remotely piloted aircraft entering into the airspace has the potential to negatively affect safety. could cause an accident. could cause damage to one of our cargo planes, one of our passenger planes. it could be disastrous. so we need to make sure that this is done right. >> reporter: among other things, commercial airline pilots want drones and their operators to go through a certification and training process similar to what they're required to do. >> if you're going to super the airspace, everything you do in the airspace needs to be safe. >> reporter: it's these concerns the new faa regulations will address. athena jones, cnn, washington. all right, in a little less than four hours, the conservative political action conference in washington, d.c., will announce the results of a straw poll on its choice for the

gop presidential nominee. three of the candidates spoke at the meeting this week already, trying to assert their conservative credentials. >> i fought against long odds in a deep blue state, but i was a severely conservative republican governor. [ applause ] i understand that the battles we as conservatives must fight, because i have been on the front lines. >> well, i think we have learned our lesson. and the lesson we've learned is that we will no longer abandon and apologize for the policies and principles that made this country great for a hollow victory in november. >> i frankly don't care what deal he tries to cut, this is a man who is deeply committed -- if he wins re-election, he will wage war on the catholic church the morning after he's re-elected. we cannot trust him. we know who he really is and we

should make sure the country knows who he really is. >> texas congressman ron paul skipped the d.c. event saying he wanted to give his supporters a break. he won the cpac straw poll in the last two years in a row. a former addict is now helping others get a healthy high. meet the first cnn hero of 2012 when we come right back. i'm a marathon runner,

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well, when people are worried about this warm winter, their worries went away, especially with this snow falling. indiana, snow shovels are now out. people only have to deal with about 2 inches of snow, that's about half the amount forecasters had predicted, but the wind isn't helping either. it's still cold and there are blizzard-like conditions. the storm forced flight cancellations at airports in illinois and indiana. reynolds wolf, i know you're glad to see winter here because people were a little concerned about this warm winter.

now we're finally getting a blast in many places, right? >> no doubt. i think all of us like when it comes to weather just a little bit of variety. >> i love the change of seasons. >> winter is certainly coming on now. take a look at what we have. you were mentioning the warnings, the watches. everything in purple is your advisory area, but the pink is the warnings and much of them you'll notice in portions of the appalachians. that in the highest elevations where we have the best chance of having the snow stack up. we've got it forecast between 6 to 10. i would not be surprised if any of our friends tuning in from wheeling may get around a foot or so. there's always a chance you may have an exception. even towards maine you have a chance for snowfall especially later in the day. what we're seeing with this area of low pressure that pulls its way off towards the atlantic, that's your big weather maker. what's pulling in behind it is a lot of cold air. that has been felt across parts of the great lakes. the delays have also been felt at a lot of airports. chicago and cleveland, it's been a combination of the wind and snow that's giving you delays.

delays also in boston, new york and miami. miami mainly because of showers and a few thunderstorms possible. your highs, 20 in chicago, 16 in minneapolis, 52 in salt lake city and 59 in san francisco. 40s for seattle and portland. 35 in boston, 38 in atlanta and wrapping it up, 72 in miami. fred, your turn. >> i know you like history. >> oh, yeah. >> but do you like musicals, perhaps on the stage? >> i am up for everything, absolutely. >> you ever see "phantom of the opera"? >> i actually have. i've seen it several times. one time in toronto, canada. >> it is now making history on the great white way. today the broadway hit "phantom of the opera" puts on its 10,000th performance. >> unreal. >> it is unreal. it debuted back in 1988. and over the last 24 years, it has sold $845 million in tickets. you bought the tickets, i bought the tickets, everyone bought the tickets. the secret to its success, it is a huge hit with women and

tourists in particular on the great white way. and fans can't seem to get enough. 40% of phantom patrons have seen the show at least once, at least once. >> that's a lot of broken chandeliers too! and a lot of cleanups and push brooms. >> and lots of costume changes. >> very true. >> all right, reynolds, have a great week -- weekend, we're still on the weekend. well, authorities in brazil, they're upset whether it's the weekend or the weekdays that people tweet about drivers encountering speed traps. so much so that now the government is suing twitter. our legal guys will be weighing in on that next. w it's quicker and easier for you to start your business... protect your family... and launch your dreams. at legalzoom.com, we put the law on your side.

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a virginia couple faces criminal charges after their kids were repeatedly late to school. our legal guys are back, avery friedman in cleveland, richard herman in new york. gentlemen, some think this is extreme, others say, hey, that's the law. we're talking about this family in loudoun county, virginia. their children 6, seven and 9. apparently these kids have been late some 30 days already out of the school year since september. late to the degree of two to

three minutes each time so now the parents are facing a potential fine. richard, the law says under this state's compulsory education law that kids have to be on time and in school. is this extreme? >> it's extreme. good thing they don't have an nv, but let me tell you, it's a crime. it's a misdemeanor if they ask you if you've ever been convict of a crime, if convicted of this, they are convicted of a crime. the kids are a students. the teachers say you should be so proud of your child. in any event, chronic lateness, it's being prosecuted p ed by t town in virginia. i think it's over the top. i think it's ridiculous, but what can i say. avery, what do you think? >> the family is not saying they're being singled out, this law is being applied to everyone. they're just the latest example to be facing this misdemeanor charges now? >> yeah.

i actually am sympathetic with the school district. >> oh, please. >> i am. let me tell you why. mark denacore is out of his house before dawn to get to his job, amy and the three kids are sleeping. so amy calls up and says, oh, we've been charged with a class 3 misdemeanor and he goes me? i haven't done anything. you know, the truth is that they're going to put him in a first offender program and say, look it, get up five minutes earlier and get the kids to school. he says i'm imperfect, we're all imperfect. i understand the school district. i think it will not be a conviction, first offender, but i think they have learned their lesson. >> and very tough lesson. so they're going to be in court possibly march 14th unless something else happens. >> yeah, yeah, it's going to work out. it will work out. let's move on to brazil. brazil only because this is really fascinating. the whole world of twitter has

kind of blown up everywhere, so in this case drivers come along speed traps or drunk driving traps and they're tweeting. they're letting other drivers know there's going to be a roadblock up ahead and so the government says, wait a minute, no. we want some sort of injunction. we want to take twitter to court. maybe this wouldn't happen in the u.s., but avery, you take a stab as to why this brazil they feel that they have just cause to do this. >> well, think about the significance of this. this is a nationwide injunction against one company for content-based communications. in america, we have a very difficult time understanding that. this is an effort because of 55,000 people a year in that country being killed because of drunk driving. $291,000 per day fine. there are law that say prohibit interfering with law enforcement. so for americans, it's foreign to us.

but look for an injunction coming out of brazil and putting twitter on notice that that aspect of their communications will be shut down, absolutely. >> richard, why would this not stand a chance in the u.s.? >> it would not stand a chance because we have free speech here in the united states, fred, so we would not permit this type of litigation. but there in brazil, what they want is they want twitter to delete these tweets. they're saying, as avery said, look, we have 55,000 deaths a year from speeding, which they attribute to speeding on their highways. it costs us $14.5 billion a year in damages. this is giving people notice. you know, in the united states, some people flash their lights when they come in the opposite direction that there's a speed trap. >> yeah, that's right. >> that's what they do on twitter in brazil. i don't know if people are driving, looking at twitter. i don't know how that works in brazil but maybe that's what's causing the accidents. >> i bet you that's probably true. >> i'm not up on my portugese so

if i knew the equivalent of no mas, i'd do that. >> and you don't speed, fred, ever. >> i'm a safe driver. i think people get mad at me because i'm driving too slow. yeah, i'm one of those. >> don't come to new york, fred. >> i drive slow now. since having a child in the car, you never drive the same once you've got a kid in the car, right? >> absolutely right. >> that's right. >> thanks so much, avery, richard, always good to see you. >> see you soon. so now an update on some of the cases richard and avery have talked about extensively. last week we talked about an arizona city council candidate kept off the ballot because she was not fluent in english. case closed. the arizona supreme court agreed and upheld a lower court's ruling. as a result, she will not be a candidate in a small border town's primary election come march. and face to face with one -- the one and only debbie allen.

find out how she stays current and relevant in the ever-changing entertainment industry. she does everything, choreographer, director, actr s actress, you name it. plus a look at what keeps the woman who is it it all busy these days, some 30 years after the hit television show "fame." we also talk about the parallel success of her sister, actress phylicia rashad, who many remember as claire huxtable. >> it must be very good to enjoy the success you both have had and to be supportive of one another. >> felicia is my best friend. our mom taught us success for one is success for the whole family. so every kudo she gets, i feel like it's mine too. >> she invited us to her santa monica home.

face to face with debbie allen next.

all right, it's not unusual to see the name debbie allen in the credits on a television screen, in a stage playbill or dance production. the tony and grammy award-winning entertainer does it all. debbie allen's career spans nearly four decades. it may seem like a piece of cake, but allen tells me face to face staying relevant is a survival skill. >> thanks for inviting us into your santa monica home. >> it's nice to see you up close and personal. i see you on tv all the time. >> but i see you more. everyone sees you more because you're handling so much. i mention your name, debbie allen, and people say choreographer, director, producer, actress, dancer. how do you juggle so much? >> i don't know. sometimes i think i do belong in the circus because i'm juggling a lot. i was most versatile in my high school class and i have kind of lived up to that expectation. i think i've always pushed myself. i've always been curious to go

steps further to learn more, to try something different, try something new. >> so that's really the secret behind your relevance, because you've been in the business a long time. you are not a flash in the pan participant in it. you are here for the long haul and have been here for the long haul. >> yeah, it's interesting. actually right now i have quite a bit of work staring me in the face that is brand new. i'm working with mariah carey, i'm creating a brand new musical for the brisbane festival. i have started acting again on "grey's anatomy." that has been the most wonderful and terrifying event that's happened for me in a long time. >> wonderful i get. terrifying why? >> well, i've been directing the show for three years so it's one thing to say ellen, do this, do that, i need you to operate sooner. but it's another thing to get

there and look through that microscope and have to handle those sharp instruments, perform an operation and then speak in the language of the medical profession with some kind of literacy. you have to know what you're talking about. >> i'll see you in surgery. >> it was new choreography for me. it was really a wonderful experience. >> so while you went transitioning to directing them and now you're their colleague, did they treat you any differently? >> no, you know what, it was really nice. they have always been very respectful to me since the day i stepped on set. patrick dempsey did start sanging fame. i said stop that. >> there is no stopping debbie allen. she most recently choreographed mariah carey's virtual concert tour in europe. so in the 2:00 eastern hour today, more face to face with allen. she is pouring her heart into nurturing the next generation of performing artists. she takes us to the debbie allen

dance academy for you to see yourself. also today, we are honoring the first cnn hero of 2012, an everyday person changing the world. she is scott strode. after beating his addiction to drugs and alcohol, he is using sports to help others stay sober. >> i get on my bike and go ride up in the mountains. but really it just brings peace. in my drug and alcohol use, it was the opposite. i got into it pretty young. by the time i was 15, i was using pretty serious drugs. when i got sober, i lost my group of friends because they were still out drinking and using. i got into boxing, triathlon, climbing. i had a new group of friends. i had completely redefined myself, so i thought how can we give this to other people. i'm scott strode and i want to help people find a better life

being sober. welcome to friday night climbing. >> we offer about 50 events a week. all programs are free to anybody who has 48 hours sober. >> doing good, zack. >> you see you're capable of whatever you put your mind to. we had this common connection, so it's easy to make new friends. we do bike rides, hiking, triathlon training, strength training. it really is just a new community of folks to hang out with. >> i'm an example of hitting rock bottom. i had a heroin overdose. they had to jump start me with the paddles. >> roll it over, drill it in there. >> going out biking and going boxing, hitting the bag, really fills the void. it's the best support crew i can imagine having. >> we're having fun and we're proud of being sober, so come out and go climbing with us. >> perhaps you know someone who is making a big difference in

the lives of others. go to cnnheroes.com now and tell us about them. your words just might change the life of someone working every day to help others. nominate a 2012 cnn hero today.

a look at our top stories now. tonight we'll find out the winner of the maine caucuses. it's shaping up to be a two-man contest between mitt romney and ron paul in maine. paul has spent more time campaigning in that state and he's hoping maine republicans will hand him his first early voting victory. romney is there today working to win over undecided voters. a seventh straight day of government forces calm barredboe city of homs. today rebels assassinated a syrian general who was a military physician. state-run media says he was shot outside his home in damascus. iran's president says his country will announce several major achievements surrounding its nuclear program. mahmoud ahmadinejad spoke at a

rally marking the 33rd anniversary of iran's islamic revolution. the west says iran is developing a nuclear weapon, but iran denies that. and meet baby blue ivy. beyonce and rapper jay-z have finally released pictures of their new daughter. my goodness, she's beautiful, right? the pictures were posted to their website along with a note reading "we welcome you to share in our joy. thank you for respecting our privacy during this beautiful time in our lives. the carter family." i'll be back one hour from now with more cnn newsroom and also continue my face-to-face discussion with debbie allen, doing everything. she talks about her dance academy as well and her friend, michael jackson, and his death. plus her keys to her greatness. then, from sending personalized cards to finding a restaurant for